The Tell Tale Heart Critical Analysis

Insane and Trustworthy

In Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” I have confidence in that the narrator is a reliable resource. He described the way he murder an old man because he felt the man had a “vulture eye.” And that the eye was an “evil eye.’ The narrator couldn’t stand seeing the eye anymore. However, the narrator articulates how he is not a psychotic man. As if he was doing someone a favor by killing the old man. The narrator wasn’t concerned what the readers thought about his actions but about his state of mind. Some of his actions lead one to believe he isn’t a reliable source but he was the only one there; well, that is still alive. Although his actions coexisted unethical behavior, the source is reliable due to the fact he didn’t hide anything, he admits to the readers how and why he murder the old man.
The narrator may be a murder, but that doesn’t make him a non-reliable source. His actions mentally affected him deeply. His conscience was punishing him for his actions. Hearing the heartbeat of the old man while the police were at his residences was a sign of guilt. It was guilt expressing

itself through the sound of the old man’s heartbeat. A sound that the narrator couldn’t bare to hear anymore. “I gasped for breath, and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly, more vehemently but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased.” The guilt was making the narrator so paranoid that he admitted to the wrongdoing.
Questioning whether the narrator is reliable or not because of his state of mind is an argumentative if one compares it to real people.

There are many people in this world, with psychological complications or disorders. From bipolar, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and many others. All those mentally disadvantages can alter ones abilities to control whether what they’re seeing is real, compared to what really happened. But millions of people live with these disadvantages daily. And if one was to ask them if they thought their mental illness affect whether if they are reliable. I believe, they wouldn't respond too kindly. Comparing real people and their situations, to how people commented on this narrator for not being reliable due to his psychological state. Makes one to believe there is no reason not to believe the event took place exactly as it was narrated to

us.
Nonetheless, I can see how people would believe the narrator isn’t a reliable source, because of his sanity. How can one believe a murderer? He killed someone because of an eye; that doesn’t seem like a reliable person. He told the story so calmly, as if what he was doing was normal. The narrator told the story so well. As he described the night with details. And why he did the sin in the first place. The details and the narrator describing his feelings can convince the readers he is a reliable source to what happened that night. “And now a new anxiety seized me -- the sound would be heard by a neighbor! The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once -- once only.” He expresses his feelings before his attack, which is another reasons to believe he is trustworthy. I believe to retell a night the way the narrator did, mentally insane or not, he is a dependable source.